Vampires of Edinburgh: Back Story
by LightTheFlame
Summary: Read the Vampires of Edinburgh parts and was so hyped up to write a flashback because that's what I do best. Supposed to be from Back To You but you guys are lovely so sneak peek for free. K .
1. s t o r y

**Read the arc in the manga and was so freaking fascinated. Escanor? Foetus/Fetus Eli? (a/n: 'fetus' is the informal name whereas 'foetus' is the scientific name, just sayin') Meliodas and Zeldris relationship? _Awesome._**

 **Anyway, as you can probably tell, this takes place during the Vampire arc where Elizabeth sneaks out in the night and sees Mel. My inner fangirl screams in agony.**

* * *

Elizabeth couldn't sleep. It was in the dead of the night, the 'witching hour', her sisters would say, where ghosts and demons and witches lurked amongst the shadows on her bedroom wall. She was afraid. She was lonely, even though her sisters were sleeping soundly in the beds beside hers. Elizabeth slowly pushed away the covers with her feet, and then slipped out of bed, rag doll in hand. The marble floor felt cold to the touch, and she had to hobble slightly before her soles could get used to it.

She sneaked ever so quietly to the door. Her heart was pounding really hard. She was torn between leaving her safe haven of a bedroom and venturing out into the dark scary hallways all by herself. Twisting the door knob with her tiny hands, she slipped out the door and out into the night.

Elizabeth brushed her silver strands out of her eyes as she walked barefooted, guided by the flickering light at the end of the hallway. She had gotten up out of impulse when she heard the distant chatter and the clanking of armor in the meeting room down the hallway. Now, as she padded down the corridor only illuminated by moonlight, she wondered if this was a good idea. She paused, as if thinking, then she placed her hands on the window sill.

The moon was full and high in the sky. Elizabeth wanted to eat it all up. Veronica said it was made of cheese ("green cheese, it smells lots!") and Margaret said there were craters on the moon. But now seeing it up close, her sapphire blue eyes widened as she gazed in a trance. The moon was so familiar to her… it seemed as if she'd seen it so many times, with someone by her side. She just didn't know who. Her father, perhaps? No, he was busy most of the times these days. Not even her sisters; they were never awake at this hour. Yet, she felt some sort of déjà vu wash over her like a wave, and she stumbled from the sill. It was as if an older version of her, sitting on a roof, along with someone she never knew, watching the moon like there was no tomorrow. Elizabeth shuddered, for no exact reason.

She continued down the dark hallway, the flickering lamp her only light. Suddenly the light was blanked out, and for a moment she panicked. Then it reappeared, and she let out a sigh of relief. Someone must be at the other end blocking the lamp. Nevertheless, she persevered, pressing her back to the wall as she inched along.

She was close to the light now. Her hands clutched the corner she was about to turn, but before she could do so, a clank sounded on the ground. Heart thumping in her chest, she figured someone was there. Was it friend, or foe? She had no clue, but just to be bold, she ventured out, her eye peeking around the corner. She clutched her doll closer to her chest.

She saw a man—well; at least that was what she thought. He was short and had blonde hair that sprouted in every direction, which made him look comical. She couldn't catch a glimpse of his eyes, but he was clad in a sleeveless red shirt and his bottom half was laden with silver armor. A sword with a complex handle rested on his back. The man—who evidently looked more like a boy—merely stared out the open entrance, his head cocked to one side and one foot raised slightly above the ground. He looked very much relaxed.

Suddenly he turned his head and saw her. Elizabeth flinched, but didn't recoil. His eyes were green, a beautiful emerald green, the kind that she would see hung around all the ladies' necks in the palace. But his was a deeper green, so green that she could gaze into them forever. His armor made more clanks on the ground as he approached her, and she didn't move a single inch.

"What are you doing, walking around in the middle of the night like this?" His voice contained a serious tone as well as a quirky one, which made him all the more intriguing. He leaned down slightly so his body was inclined toward her, and he blotted the light out completely, and for such a small person Elizabeth thought this was an incredible feat to pull off. He placed a broad hand on her head, and for once she didn't feel as if she were treated as a small child, unlike all the others who had ruffled her hair and said cute things to her.

He ruffled her hair, too, but it was different in an unexplainable way. She squeezed her doll more tightly in her hands. He seemed to have noticed this, because he smiled at her in a reassuring way, and said, "You don't have to be scared of me." He said it so kindly she felt like melting on the spot. "I'm your daddy's friend."

"Daddy's… friend?" Drat that loose tooth. Every word she spoke now had a lisp to it, so it came out "Daddy's fwend." And she really didn't understand why she wanted to act grown-up around this… _"boy"_. She just didn't.

"Yes! I'm…" he didn't get to finish as Veronica barged in. "Hey, Ellie! There you are!" Her sister cried in relief and anger at the same time. Elizabeth didn't know how much tighter she could hold the doll until she popped a seam in its head. "Weonica?"

"Didn't Margaret tell you that ghosts will come out if you stay up late?" She began to pull her away from him, and being the younger of the two she couldn't pull back. "Sowwy." She looked up at the man in armor. His eyebrows were raised, and if Veronica hadn't said, "Come on, let's go!" in such an angry tone she would have laughed at the sight. Then Veronica saw him.

"He's a bad, bad guy! He's a big criminal! If you get too close, he'll eat you!"

"Big cwiminal?" Elizabeth wondered if Veronica was just saying this to frighten her, because when she looked back, a smile had lit up on his face.

Definitely looked like he would eat her.

The next time, as she smuggled her doll out of bed, she was careful to close the door. The clank of armor was familiar to her, so she slipped out into the hallway again and made her way down the corridor. She had the light to guide her, of course, but she didn't need to hold the wall anymore.

Before she rounded the bend, just to be sure, she poked her head around the corner. This time, he was wearing full-body armor. It was red. Only his helmet remained on the table.

He caught sight of her again, and she stared into his green eyes. "Hello," he said kindly, and got up from his seat to walk toward her. This time he knelt so he was her height. Elizabeth couldn't suppress a closed-mouth smile.

"Good girl, aren't you?" He rubbed her head affectionately, and she couldn't help but widen her grin. "You should be getting back to bed."

"If you're really Daddy's friend, come tuck me in." She had rehearsed this line in her head so many times because she had planned to use it the next time she saw him. Her lisp was gone thanks to her tooth growth, but the peculiar expression on his face made her giggle.

"Tuck you in?" She nodded enthusiastically, clutching the doll in her tiny hands. "I don't really know how to do that. Won't your daddy be mad?"

"If you're really Daddy's friend, he wouldn't mind," She replied. Her own father never came to tuck her in anyway. "Come on, I'll show you how!" With that she grabbed his hand in her tiny one, ignoring the cold metal against her palm, and pulled him toward her bedroom. She couldn't believe it! She'd actually managed to pull it off. The metal clanking of his armor echoed down the hallway as he caught up with her speed. "Whoa, hold your horses there. Don't want to be waking up the rest of your sisters." He grinned at her, and something in her heart burst out in happiness.

She twisted the knob; the door opened, and she motioned him in. The bedroom was illuminated only by a solitary lamp glowing in the far end of the room, and next to that were three beds, each personalized by the king's three princesses. Elizabeth's was nearest to the door, and she ran excitedly toward it. He followed after her, carefully stepping to avoid any unnecessary noise. She patted the bed, her doll already tossed onto it.

"First of all you've got to carry me onto here." The man smiled, bent down and picked up Elizabeth as easily as she could've been a puppy. Elizabeth had to bite her lip to keep from squealing. He placed her gently on the bed, and she sank into the mattress. His blonde hair fell into his face, and he blew it away playfully. Elizabeth giggled softly.

"Now you've got to fluff up the pillows." He frowned good naturedly but fluffed them anyway, and when she lay back down and got herself comfortable, she found they were perfect. "Then you have to pull the covers up." He did so, pulling the duvet up to her chin, and she wanted to laugh again. Only the fear of waking up her sisters restricted her.

"Then you're supposed to tuck me in." This was the tricky part. Even her father had trouble sometimes doing it. Only the feminity of a woman could work such wonders, Margaret and Veronica had said. It was their new theory, and Elizabeth had chosen to believe that. You could imagine how pleasantly surprised she was when he sunk his gloved fingers into the sides of her bed, tucking her safely inside. He had got it on first try! Her mind screamed. He was even better than Daddy.

"Like this?" he asked. Elizabeth smiled happily, contented. She couldn't hold it in. It just spilled out of her just like that, and she didn't want to keep it to herself forever. She wanted to share this joy, with this wonderful man here, who could be more of a father than her royal figure of one.

Suddenly the room whooshed into darkness. Elizabeth felt scared, but then a hand landed on her head reassuringly. 'Don't worry, I'll relight the lamp." She could only hear the soft thudding of his footsteps toward the corner of the room, then more thudding to signal his return to her bedside. She lay back, not fearing anymore, as she knew he was there with her. Then the room lit up with a tiny spark that danced between his gloved fingers. "Look!" Elizabeth cried in ecstasy, clapping her palms together. His smile was brighter than the spark itself. "Watch."

With a flourish he tapped the wick of the candle in the lamp. The candle flared with new light. He'd transferred the spark onto the candle and turned it into a flame with his bare fingers!

"How did you do that?!" Elizabeth sat up on her bed, eyes wide with fascination. He grinned, watching the flame flare before his eyes. "Even someone like me needs to learn a little magic here and there, right?" Elizabeth grinned along. Under the lamplight, her angelic face gleamed with radiance.

"And it's time you went to sleep." He whispered in her ear, which made her giggle because it tickled. He fluffed her pillows one last time, and stood to his full height. Elizabeth didn't want him to leave at all.

"Why are you leaving?" His eyes turned to her again, and flashed a smile. "I've got an errand to run for your daddy right now. Don't worry; I'll be back for sure."

"What's your name, Mister?" She burst out a bit too eagerly, and winced. She couldn't bear him leaving without at least telling her his name.

"Hmm…" he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. At last he faced her with a determined smile. "You can call me Mister for the time being."

"That's not your real name!" Elizabeth cried indignantly despite her smile, being the annoying little brat she was and always had been up until now.

"Of course it isn't," he replied, proceeding toward the door. "But my real name's hard to pronounce anyway. Mister will do."

"Alright, Mister." She giggled as he threw a lop-sided grin at her over his shoulder. "See you soon."

"Yeah," His voice was barely an echo when he disappeared into the hallway. "See you soon…"

The days passed like months when he left her. She constantly stared at the door, waiting to hear the signal of clanking armor and distant voices, but there was none. She was utterly tempted to ask her father about when he held his meetings, but she was scared he would suspect things. You see, even if she did say that Daddy wouldn't mind if it were his friend, he still wouldn't like the idea of anyone entering his princesses' bedroom without permission. So she stayed away from that.

It had been three weeks until he made his second appearance. She sneaked out of bed again, careful not to wake either Veronica or Margaret. She ran down the hallway lightly, not even having to worry about who would be at the end of the corridor. She knew it was him, judging from the metallic sound of his armor on the marble floor.

His blonde hair looked golden in the moonlight. His green eyes twinkled when he saw her. "Catch me if you can!" She squeaked before taking off down the hallway, heart racing. To her astonishment she didn't hear any sort of noise coming after her, so she turned. And then a pair of strong hands lifted her into the air with ease.

It was a wonder how her squeal did not wake anyone up. "Naughty, aren't you?" She giggled as he walked into the room and placed her on the bed, a smile on his face. He rubbed her head again. Elizabeth loved the feel of his hand on her head, whether gloved or not. Tonight she saw that his hand was bare, and the rest of his arms were covered with long white sleeves. He was wearing a white open-collared shirt. She lay back into her pillows, and realized they weren't fluffed. She sat up again as he did them, and he must have noticed her staring at his outfit, and his face lit up with a mischievous grin.

"You're not used to it, are you?" He pulled at his collar. Down the sides were gold buttons. He pulled the covers over her, her little fingers grasping their edge. "It doesn't matter," Elizabeth smiled back, and said something shameless of her. "I like you in anything you wear, Mister. You're really good-looking. "

His eyebrows perked up in curiosity, and then his expression softened. He'd looked away for a moment before turning back to her. "What do you know about good-looking…" he said softly with a humble tone in his voice, but you could tell he was pleased. Elizabeth was pleased that she had pleased him. "Want to hear a story?" Elizabeth nodded so hard she feared her head would fall off. He laughed at her enthusiasm.

"Alright then." He sat on her bed, arms supported on his knees, and Elizabeth felt his full weight. Yet she didn't seem to mind when she felt herself sink slowly toward him. Her hopeful face beamed at him brighter than the moon.

"Once upon a time," he began softly, blonde hair tickling his neck. Elizabeth found this impressive; her father always had to read from a book, whereas he just spoke from memory. She listened eagerly. "Once upon a time, there was a warrior princess. She could fight like any knight in the kingdom, and was a free and wild spirit."

He had a faraway look on his face, as if he had told this story hundreds of times to restless children. Yet, she felt as if the only person who had heard this story was her.

"One day, when she was out on a night ambush with the other knights, she was captured by the opposing kingdom." He said this with such suspense that Elizabeth sprung from her bed. "What happened to her?"

"Now the knights were all agreeing that they should kill her. All of a sudden, someone stopped them. It was their leader, the king's general!" His eyes shone with excitement as they gazed into hers. She jumped up and down. "Tell me! Tell me what happened next!"

"That's for another time. And if you keep up that volume you're going to wake everyone in the castle," she giggled as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Now Mister's disappearing for a while."

"For how long?" she asked. She wanted to know how much longing she'd have to endure for his next arrival.

"Hmm." He didn't answer her, instead stepped out the door. "Good night, Princess."

"Thank you for coming… Captain," He let a hearty laugh escape his lips before sipping his tea. "Nah, Baltra, let's skip the titles, shall we?"

The king stroked his long beard thoughtfully as he reached for a scone. "Well, yes…" His eyes averted to his plate. "You do know why I called you here at the last moment?"  
The man looked up from his own plate. "What is it?" Now his fingers folded into each other to make it look as if he were thinking.

Baltra straightened. "Nothing much," he said with a small smile, dropping his scone back onto the plate. He seemed to change the subject carefully but immediately. "Wonderful sight, isn't it?"

He gestured to the lush green fields filled with farmers and laughter down below to the right of the palace. The two were on one of the lavish balconies in the palace for an "afternoon tête-à-tête", as the king called it. The man's chin rested on his fist as he propped up his elbow to survey his surroundings. "Very."

The king didn't know, of course, that he'd been referring to the group of children playing together in the courtyard to the king's left. There was a fair-haired child that he evidently recognized from his training, and he smiled. But then his smile stretched further when he caught sight of a silver-haired little girl laughing along at with her sisters at his antics.

The king cleared his throat to catch his distracted attention. "So, um…" He himself had trouble trying to start the conversation he'd been thinking of having for weeks. "You remember Elizabeth, don't you, Captain?"

The man returned to his senses at the king's voice. "Elizabeth?" he repeated as he drank more tea. "What about her?"

Baltra scratched his head awkwardly. "Well, I just thought, um…" he could not help but stutter when talking about his youngest adopted child, "… maybe you'd want to check up on her ever since…?"

He blinked once, then twice, and asked, "How's her studies?"

The king was taken aback for a second. "Her studies? She excels in reading and writing, but tends to daydream a lot more than she used to." He coughed to show his discomfort. "Sometimes I don't have the faintest idea what that girl is thinking of."

Silence ensued for a while. "Hey, Baltra." The man stood up from his seat, neatly brushing away any crumbs from the scones from his mouth and clothes. "Don't worry too much. If she still studies well, there's nothing wrong with her being a dreamer."

For one weird moment Baltra tried to imagine the captain a dreamer and shuddered. "Yes, well… Captain!" He stopped him before he could exit. "Wait! Aren't you worried about her wellbeing? Wouldn't you want to know more… since you were the one who saved her back in Danafor?"

The man had halted in his tracks. He was silent, but when he turned back to the king, there was a smile on his face.

"This is the last time I'm going to say it, Baltra: drop the formality, or I will have to deal with you very severely." The king's eyes widened but didn't say anything. "And of course I worry, maybe even more than you think, but I'm assured that she will be fine in your care."

He paused. Then, his smile vanished, and a solemn, humble look was etched upon his face. "The day I brought her to you, I was sure that you would be able to provide the love for her that I would never be able to give."

There was a quiet sincerity in his voice that made the king actually stop breathing. "You remember, don't you, Baltra? It was raining then, but I made sure she didn't get the slightest bit wet."

"Yes," said Baltra, picking at his last scone, "but ever since that day she's been lulling herself off to sleep during thunderstorms while Veronica and Margaret would scream their heads off… is that possibly anything to do with you?"

The man smiled again and said nothing. "Maybe, Baltra, maybe." Then he swung his sword casually behind his back. "If you'll excuse me now, I must see to my student waiting in the training grounds. He's pretty determined to protect Margaret, you know."

Baltra stood slowly, letting the words sink in. "Bless him, that boy," he murmured, and turned to the man. "You've made me feel better about her already, I thank you for that… when will we meet again?"

"Hmm… maybe the next time you call for me?" He didn't wait for the king's reply as he bolted out the door and disappeared into one of many confusing hallways. Baltra stayed silent before dropping back into his seat, eyeing his unfinished scone. A small smile made its way onto his wizened face.

"And that will be soon, I assure you… Meliodas."

"Tell me the rest of the story!" They'd already gone through the now-familiar ritual of tucking her in. He sat again with that posture of putting his hands on his knees and looking away from her wistfully. "Alright, alright. Patience, L-Elizabeth."

She noticed this but didn't press him. In her mind she enviously searched all the names that began with L: Louise, Lettie, Lana…a blank stare was evident on her face until her thoughts snapped back to his voice.

He didn't even take a minute to recall where he'd left off. "The general witnessed this young princess, all alone in a foreign country, pressured by the enemy. And then he said… what did he say?"

" **'Spare her!'** " Elizabeth squealed in what she assumed was a manly voice. He turned to her, and his eyes laughed. "You little…" He stroked her hair softly. "Guess what? Those were his exact words."

"Really?" Her eyes shone, and something inside him burst like a bubble, though he was unsure whether good or bad. "What happened then?"

"All the knights in the kingdom probably hated him for it, but he stopped them with a few words." He personified what he thought was a burly, large man with a deep voice: " **'If you're her enemy, then you're mine too.'** " Elizabeth let out a gurgle and slapped her hand over her mouth.

"Oops…" He chuckled deeply, unlike his usual laugh. It was warm and comforting to hear, and Elizabeth wished she could hear it everyday. "It's alright," he said to the blushing girl, "things like that happen sometimes. Now, the princess was suspicious. Why did this general guy want to save her? He probably wanted something from her, like her treasures, her kingdom…"

Then he fixed his gaze onto her seriously, and Elizabeth felt herself blush harder. "But the thing was, she didn't know he was only after one thing."

"What was that, Mister?"

A soft smile had crept onto his face like a shadow in the night. His eyes misted over.

"Her heart."

They both held their breaths in the tiny bedroom, both hearts beating in unison. Elizabeth's eyes were as big as saucers, and she clutched the sheets to her.

"In time, she did realize, and a wonderful thing happened: they fell in love." He said this all in one breath, no pauses in between. Elizabeth's mouth fell open, and she said, "Then what?"

"The end is for another time, brat," he grinned as he ruffled her hair messily. She loved that he called her things like 'spoiled brat", "kiddo" or anything of the sort, and not 'sweetheart' or 'honey'. It made him feel more real.

Her head was propped against her fluffed pillows. "When will you come again?" She murmured softly, eyelids drooping over.

And then it happened. He leaned down from where he was sitting and planted his lips on her forehead. His blonde hair fell onto her face as well as his, and it tickled terribly.

"Soon, Elizabeth." His voice was already a distant sound in her mind as she felt her eyes closing.

He slipped away into the night like a cat, not believing what he had just done. He'd kissed a girl. Not just any girl, but the youngest princess. The youngest princess whom he'd always felt an attraction to.

He slapped his hand over his mouth just like Elizabeth did when she gurgled. Seeing her smile and laugh were the only things that made him truly happy, truly alive. And, much as she didn't know it, he yearned for nights like these as much as she did.

A small smile of his own crept back onto his face. He closed his eyes, and felt the night wind caress his face with gentle pity.

The fourth time, however, was not the best time. Elizabeth lay in bed with a constant cough, her eyes threatening to droop if not for the immense pain in her throat. A sliver of light fell on her face, and slowly she turned toward the door.

He was not wearing any sort of armor this time. It was just plain old him, and she liked him that way. Not to mention liking him in any other way.

"Elizabeth?" She wanted to call out to him, wanted to hear the rest of the story, but her throat would not let her. She let out a cough that would make anyone's heart tear into two.

"Mister," she smiled with all the strength she could muster, clutching the sheets in her hands. "You came back."

He crossed the floor in three steps and in an instant she felt his cool hand running over her forehead. "Of course I did," he whispered softly, his voice faltering slightly. "You're running a temperature. I'll go get a nurse."

Before he'd even left the bed her hands held onto his sleeve so tight she could rip it apart. "Don't leave," she moaned softly, her eyes closed painfully, "I don't want you to be found out anyway."

His mouth was pursed into a straight line. She hated to see him like this, hated to see him so sad, and then realized he was sad because of her. She wanted to cry.

"I won't, don't worry," he pressed a hand to her forehead again while the other held her small hand in his protectively. "You should get some sleep."

"I can't," she said softly, a lump forming in her throat as tears welled in her eyes. "I just can't."

"Here, I'll help you," and he leaned down and dropped a kiss on her forehead. The feeling instantly soothed her, and she felt herself drifting.

"Thank you, Mister…" Her hand went cold in his. Slowly, he let go, and left the room, but not before leaning over and dropping one last kiss on her forehead.

The door creaked ajar after the faintest of knocks. Moonlight spilled onto the ground, until a shadow gradually appeared to move forward lightly.

"Elizabeth?" The said girl opened her big blue eyes to the man in the doorway. "Mister…" she smiled, closing her tiny fingers around her already tucked-in covers. "You called my name… for the first time…"

Meliodas gave a start. "Were you really keeping track?" He couldn't understand why she would be serious about him. He approached her, a little sad that the pillows had already been fluffed up and the covers were all pulled up.

"Daddy came in earlier to kiss us goodnight," Elizabeth explained, not wanting to hurt him; every word was as delicate and precious as his fragile smile. "But he never really tucks me in as well as you do."

Her grin sent his heart fluttering, and he moved silently to her side. He was wearing his full armor tonight, so when he placed himself on the bed, his weight pulled her toward him. She giggled softly.

"Do you want to hear the rest of the story?" Elizabeth nodded. She sat up a bit straighter, and he took the opportunity to fluff up her pillows one last time. She hugged her knees to her chest, and listened.

"Slowly the general's troops opened up their hearts to her, as she had this special kind of aura surrounding her. And she, well, she was attracted to him in a weird sort of way, something that was unexplainable." His emerald green eyes gleamed once when they looked away from her. "What happened next?"

"One day, however…" Elizabeth knew that this word was the bringer of bad news. She sat silently in the darkness, her shadow stretching beside his on the marble floor.

"The princess… she was killed." Elizabeth could not stifle the gasp that had risen in her throat. Her eyes fixed on him again, and she noticed that he spoke in a croaky voice, like the same lump she had in her own throat.

He looked as if he were going to cry. Then he continued, still looking distant.

"The general knew something was wrong, so he came for her." He sounded like he was choking. His messy yellow strands appeared to droop on the tip of his head. "But in the end, it was too late. The enemy had gotten to her and murdered her right before his eyes."

Elizabeth pursed her lips. How was it that people could feel so much from a love between characters as simple as a general and a princess? This was something she would come to understand when she grew older, she knew. But right now, she'd just have to wait.

"The general was the saddest that day. He was so sad that his sadness turned to pain, then to anger, and he massacred the enemy in one swipe, and went on a rampage after that."

They were still, moonlight illuminating two pale faces, one drained of color, and one clouded with concern. "Mister…?" She managed as well as she could with her childish voice, and her toddler legs drew closer to him. He turned back from the moon and glanced at her. "I'm alright."

Instead of his usual grin, it was a watery smile.

And then she knew. She knew why this story could strike the deepest of hearts, even his, whose heart could be as strong as steel, she knew.

It was because the story was true.

Without further ado she flung her frail arms around his neck with as much strength needed and held him. She though she'd heard a small sniffle, then nothing more.

"Mister…" She closed her eyes, and let her feelings pour out onto him. "I know that someone will love you as much as she did."

She felt a gloved hand wrap around her tiny body, and felt herself pressed against cold metal, but she was happy. She was happy she was able to reach him.

"Who would love me, a general who could never forget his former lover, and instead of abiding her wishes of protecting everyone, destroyed everything?" Tears spilled out of her own eyes. The warm liquid trailed down his neck, and disappeared into the collar of his armor, causing it to slowly rust.

"Mister…I love you already."

He let out a bitter chuckle, yet sweet as honey, and released her. Immediately she yearned for his warm touch, which came as he held her hand in his.

"Listen to me, Elizabeth." His green eyes fixed determinedly on hers. "I'll promise you something."

Something in her heart blossomed. "Yes?" She shakily said. Then to her great astonishment he got down on his knees silently, like how the man did when he was… _proposing…_ to a woman! Elizabeth held her breath.

"Promise me that you'll wait," his eyebrows relaxed so that he looked at her with such tenderness she felt like crying all over again, "and I promise I will come back for you."

"No," she murmured softly, eyelids drooping, "come back to me, not for me."

"It'll mean the same, somehow," he whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder and laying her back into the pillows. "Okay?"

She held out her pinky finger. He hooked his, and their thumbs touched. She knew that warmth would last her a lifetime.

"Okay," Elizabeth smiled, dropping her hand. "Good night, Mister."

"Good night, Elizabeth," and he kissed her on the forehead again. The kiss burned its mark there, something she knew she'd remember from time to time. She reached up, missed his cheek, and instead planted her own lips on the corner of his jaw. He smiled a heart-rending smile. "Sleep well."

"Okay." As the door closed and the last sliver of light vanished from the room, Elizabeth turned on her side, and whispered, "Come back for me, come back to me… I just want to see you again."

 _ **End.**_

* * *

 **I'm sorry for being garbage and not updating BTY, but I was so hyped up on writing this that I just HAD to. And 12 frickin' pages. 5,000 words. You have no idea how proud of myself I am.**

 **By the way, if you thoroughly enjoyed this, review, won't you? And spoiler alert: more of these will be coming your way as Back To You progresses! It's just the beginning that I'm dreading to write, but as soon as I'm past that, you'll see me fly.**

 **-Mint-chan.**


	2. b o n u s

**So I'd never thought I'd continue this, but something took over me- probably the fact that** Elizabeth **tried to protect Meliodas. Also I wanted to thank these fabulous people:**

 **missamouron: compared to zeldris and brand-new authors I am nothing trust me.**

 **papapapuffy (I had fun typing your name out): you can be sure there'll be many more fic to come. And yes, this is a bonus for you and your wonderful thought about my fic. Why can't I reply to your review though?**

* * *

This couldn't be happening.

 _Shit._

He cradled Elizabeth in his arms, the girl unconscious, blood pouring from her right arm and left leg. Her eyes were so peacefully closed, it made him unstable. _Please, please don't die, you can't die on me,_ he spoke in his mess of a mind, already filled with thoughts of revenge, hatred and remorse.

Why did she… why did she have to get injured like this? Around him the walls were crumbling, but all he cared about was using his body as a shield to protect her. His gloved hand under her head, her soft hair taking him back to all the times he'd ruffled his hand in it, then to the times when he'd tucked those covers with those same old fingers of his and kissed her goodnight. No, this could not be happening, she could not die now, he still had to make it up to her…

How could she, a young princess who didn't even know it was he who saved her, he who managed the infamous Sins, try to save him?

It wasn't because she wasn't capable; that was merely a side reason. Maybe she didn't really understand that he was a master swordsman, with immeasurable strength and durability, able to weasel his way out of Death's grasp no matter how many times It tried. But still the guilt gnawing at his bones did not leave him. He couldn't let her get hurt on his account.

The guilt eventually swelled, and swallowed him whole. All he could see was her limp figure in his arms and his demon mode taking over.

He didn't shed a single tear, unlike that night.

Instead he lost consciousness after taking a blow to his head by a fellow comrade. Former fellow comrade, he might nearly say.

Later when he found himself in a cave with a talking pig, the only thing that interrupted his train of thought was the memory of Wandle. All the time, behind that poker face of his, when Hawk had been complaining to him, he had been wondering about her. Wondering if she was okay, wondering if she blamed him for what had happened, wondering if she was mad at him.

 **He'd never wondered about her forgetting him.**


End file.
